And the next Odessa Governor is………

November 30, 2016

When former Governor Saakashvilli resigned on 7th November, whilst many a post mortem regarding his achievements and legacy in Odessa, not to mention his future plans filled the media space, the first question the blog raised was who would replace him?

An especially poignant question as the new legislation allows President Poroshenko to either move an existing appointed governor from another region, or instigate a “transparent” selection “competition”.

As that entry made clear, “The new legislation has witnessed this process occur several times since in came into effect. Would any reader be surprised to discover that the winners in both Kharkiv and Mykolaevskaya Oblasts came from the presidential BPP faction? (The successful candidate for Mykolaevskaya Oblast is definitely not the sharpest tool in the tool box, so a reader may ponder just how testing the examinations actually are.)

If it is a coincidence that both Kharkiv and Mykolaevskaya Oblasts saw BPP winners, then perhaps that coincidence will continue?

It therefore matters which BPP affiliated candidates throw their hats in the ring.”

On 30th November, Presidential Decree №280 / 2016-rp announced the “competition” for the post of Odessa Governor. Ergo President Poroshenko having pondered matters for 3 weeks has decided against moving an existing governor from a different oblast to Odessa.

Odessa Oblast Administration

However, despite all the local Poroshenko/BPP loyalist names mentioned in the above-linked entry it is quite clear that not a single one among them is particularly interested in the post. Should their names appear in the competition it is therefore fair to assume they are “pressed men” to one degree or another – and not volunteers.

A reader may now decide to concentrate upon who enters the competition – and who is specifically the BPP candidate and/or who is historically loyal (enough) to President Poroshenko to be allowed to govern a nationally strategic oblast (and an oblast that is also the font of many, many millions in nefariously accrued US$) – for “coincidence” would appear to dictate that their chances may be somewhat higher than other candidates.

With no willingly obvious and sufficiently loyal local candidate, the runners and riders will be rather interesting to behold – albeit once known picking the winner may not be particularly difficult even before the selection process begins.